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The War Nurse


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Dr. Murphy compares the doctor's role to that of a car mechanic and gives the majority of the healing credit to nurses. How would you rank their importance next to doctors?

Created: 07/08/21

Replies: 20

Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Dr. Murphy compares the doctor's role to that of a car mechanic and gives the majority of the healing credit to nurses. How would you rank their importance next to doctors?

Dr. Murphy compares the doctor's role to that of a car mechanic and gives the majority of the healing credit to nurses. What do you think is a nurse's most important role? How would you rank their importance next to doctors?


Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Sunflowersky1982

Join Date: 10/09/19

Posts: 22

Nurses are the key to medicine

As someone who was raised by a nurse, I completely agree with this statement. There are soooo many times when the nurse is really the hero of medicine. My mom would often recount stories of times when she "Saved" a doctor from making a pretty big mistake becuase she caught something in the patient's chart and often times doctors rely on the opinions of their trusted nurses because they are the ones with the patient 99% of the time.
In my own experience dealing with being in a hospital, I ALWAYS asked my questions to nurses or felt that they were really the "Necks" and turned the doctors heads in the right direction!


Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebajane

Join Date: 04/21/11

Posts: 320

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

Nurses are definitely the nurturers, the comforters. Doctors are the technicians but nurses are essential for the human side.


Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

Nurses are the caregivers. Doctors will check their patients every day, but it is the nurses that are with the patients all day, making them comfortable. These nurses gave baths, changed clothing, administered morphine, and sat by them and listened to them, comforting them.


Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
cindyj

Join Date: 06/26/18

Posts: 32

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I think nurses are equally important as doctors. Nurses are the doctors' eyes and ears. They know the patients better as they are with them more and provide personal care. Nurses are also the ones that alert doctors to changes in a patients status and sometimes catch and correct errors in doctors' orders.


Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Marcia S

Join Date: 02/08/16

Posts: 505

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I totally agree. Nurses are closer to the patients on a personal level than doctors are. They are the actual caregivers to the patients. I've been in a hospital room when the nurse called the doctor to let him know there was a problem with medication. She probably shouldn't have called while still in the room, but I appreciated her prompt action.


Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
vivianh

Join Date: 11/14/11

Posts: 160

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I’ve many friends who are nurses. They have more interaction with the patients. Too many physicians have zero bedside manner, do not listen to their patients, have preconceived ideas, and decline to listen to nurses on the floor. I had more of a conversation regarding my history, challenges and concerns with my acupuncturist in one visit than with my internist in 14 years. My internist asks a few questions, asks for blood work, and spends about 7 minutes with me. My acupuncturist spends 20 minutes each visit checking on my current state of wellbeing.


Posted Jul. 08, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lindac

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 28

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I liked that analogy. The nuts and bolts of fixing belongs to the doctor, but the real overall perspective of what the patient needs to heal lies mostly with the nurse. Just look at their role during COVID. Patient deaths would have been even more horrible without them.


Posted Jul. 10, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
carriem

Join Date: 10/19/20

Posts: 237

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

Doctors might make the diagnosis and do procedures that are above the training of the nurses but nurses are there interacting, nurturing and observing patients all day thus providing the actual care of the patient, unlike the doctor who makes the diagnosis and initial treatment then just makes sure his diagnosis was correct, of course with the nurses feedback and reports.


Posted Jul. 10, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
carriem

Join Date: 10/19/20

Posts: 237

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

In addition, I have observed the interaction of nurses and doctors and the analogy of doctors could be viewed as the "mechanics" is very good.


Posted Jul. 11, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
terriej

Join Date: 07/28/11

Posts: 422

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I thought it was a perfect analogy!


Posted Jul. 12, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
gwenc

Join Date: 07/14/12

Posts: 94

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I nodded my head in agreement when I read this. My father was a surgeon; my mother was a RN. Both were in Dr. Murphy’s line of thinking.


Posted Jul. 12, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Pisanelli

Join Date: 03/06/19

Posts: 9

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

What is a doctor without a good nurse? She is with the patient more than the Dr.


Posted Jul. 13, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
ScribblingScribe

Join Date: 02/29/16

Posts: 189

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

In a hospital, patients see the nurses far more than the doctors. And by far more, I mean by a ratio of 95:5. Nurses are invaluable in hospital care. In doctor's offices, the ratio is more evenly distributed, but nurses still play a vital role.


Posted Jul. 16, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
paulagb

Join Date: 08/16/17

Posts: 173

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

The nurse /doctor relationship is complex largely because of historical differences in education, authority and gender. Because we depend on the medical profession so much we are experiencing a shortage of both nurses and doctors. As a result the role of a nurse has greatly increased to the benefit of patients. Specialization has increased the technical aspect of the surgeon and focussed even more importance on the caregiving role of the nurse. Without well-educated nurses and nurse practitioners a patient’s health would be at significantly more risk.


Posted Jul. 17, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
joang

Join Date: 05/17/12

Posts: 94

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

Great analogy! After all...nurses are the human part of medicine!


Posted Jul. 22, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
taking.mytime's Gravatar
taking.mytime

Join Date: 03/29/16

Posts: 364

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

It is the Dr who prescribes and starts the process, but it is the nurse who heals. Nurses are far more hands on with a patient. If you don't have a good nurse the Dr would never know what is really happening on a daily basis with their patients, or when to change directions or when to start or stop medications etc etc. In my opinion the Dr is the shop owner and the nurses are the mechanics - Drs dictate what the problem is and the nurses fix it.


Posted Jul. 22, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dorothyh

Join Date: 01/23/15

Posts: 225

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

The doctor makes the orders, the nurses make it happen for the best care of the patient


Posted Jul. 23, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
carolt

Join Date: 03/25/17

Posts: 190

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I liked the comparison. While certainly many doctors are nurturers, especially women but men, too, those who consider themselves "gods" are not rare. I can only think of one or two nurses I've had who weren't warm and caring - and human.


Posted Aug. 12, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
nancyh

Join Date: 06/25/13

Posts: 347

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I must agree with all the answers above.


Posted Aug. 12, 2021 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
llsmill

Join Date: 02/13/13

Posts: 38

RE: Dr. Murphy compares the doctor'...

I think that Dr Murphy had it right but today we have nurse practitioners who can do much of what a physician does. They can prescribe medications, perform minor surgeries and write for further labs, tests and consult with specialities.


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